Dunlop 404 tires Keep your eye on them.

Shop deals on ebay
Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Classic Goldwings

Help Support Classic Goldwings:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
S

sonny4jesus

Active member
Joined
May 28, 2010
Messages
41
Reaction score
0
Location
Zephyrhills,Florida
I wanted to share a problem that happened to myself and my wife with our GL1100 interstate.
As most of you know it's getting hard to find tires in the 130/90/17 size.
So most tire stores want to sell you the Dunlop 404 tire in the 130/90/17 size , so I purchased a 110/90/19 front and a 130/90/17 for the rear, it has been 2 years ago and the tires worked real fine until about 3 weeks ago. I looked at the front tire as I was checking the air and found it had cracks all over , only gone about 3500 miles on it. So I check the back tire the 130/90/17 Dunlop 404 and wow did I get a shock , it had 6 bubbles on the side wall and 5 in the middle of the tire. So I called ride direct where I purchased the tires and they told me to contact Dunlop which I did and this is the result : Dunlop had me take the tires to a local bike shop so they could make a report to Dunlop about the problems with the tires.
After about a day I call the shop and they said Dunlop would replace the rear tire but not the front, seems the rear was bad enough to cause them worry as to what may have happened if we had a blow out at speed, so said the shop service mgr.
So I have now received the replacement 404 in the 130/90/17 size but I just do not trust it anymore.
I ride 2 up with my wife all the time and need a good strong tire in the 70 or better load range but thats getting hard to find, seems tires are not marked with load range anymore . However, I did find a 491 dunlop in the 130/90/17 size with a load range of 76 , the 404 load range is 64, big differance when riding 2 up.
I have looked at the Continental TK16 and TK17 but none of the tire dealers have any in stock , they have been on back order for some time.
Well I just wanted to share my story about the Dunlop 404, if You ride 2 up be careful and check the tires often.
GOD Bless
Sonny <///><
 
I've had an E3 on the back and it's doing a great job now for over a year. At the same time I purchased it I got a 404 on the front because that's what they had in stock. The 404 on the front has started making a howling noise and front steering wobble when leaning into curves. But looks fine. I think I'm gonna do what ever it takes to get E3's from now on.
 
I'm running...

a 120/90-18 65H D404 on the front with no bubbles, cracks, or improper tread wear.

and a 120/90-16 71H D404 on the rear, which looks the same as the front only it has twice the tread.

They were installed at the same time about 30 months ago with approx 5K on them. All these miles are in one the most arguably hostile environments in the country with temps "on the road" from 125F+ in the summer, and weeks of temps below 0F(at night). It probably means nothing but the whiskers still cover the sidewalls.

The D404 is one of the most used tires for our classic wings(at least I see them on other wings all the time). I wonder what the problem is here. I can't remember another tire mentioned this often regarding failures.

~O~
 
I've never run a 404 but have the E2.

The last E2 I bought new was less than a year old when installed and after less than 2k miles the tread twisted, could feel a wobble in the seat.

I reinstalled a old E2 and wheel, it's a good 9 years old.
I only run it on the streets but have plans for an E3 to replace it.

The E3 I have on the front has been doing very good.
It has grip far superior than the E2 it replaced.

If at all possible my recommendation is to stay away from E2's since Dunlop isn't making them anymore anything you find will be old stock.

I too have read of many 404 failures, I'd stay away from them also.
 
I am having a hard time up loading the PDF for Dunlop tires . The PDF is located @ www.dunlopmotorcycle.com/pdf/11d_FL_safty;pdf
Dunlop told me the tires are warranteed for 4 years from the time the leave the factory not when you buy them and I may have had old stock. But because of how badly the rear failed I was shipped a new one.
The pdf I am trying to get on here will give you all the info you need for dunlop tires , check it out.
Sonny
 
That page no longer exists on that site, but I did find this...

"However, there are steps that can be taken to minimize cupping and uneven wear on a motorcycle:

1 Maintain your motorcycle and particularly your front forks and suspension.
2 Avoid hard braking whenever possible. Braking causes the tire to grab and wear in one direction.
3 When braking is applied to the front tire, the load transfer over-flexes the tire and increases the tendency for cupping and uneven wear.
4 Maintain your tire pressures. Underinflation or overinflation in motorcycle tires are significant causes of cupping and uneven wear, particularly in association with hard braking and/or trailer use."

~O~

EDIT - I just did a few searches, and apparently there are people that hate "EVERY" motorcycle tire brand in existence. :roll:
 
I did'nt say I hated Dunlop or any other tire for Motorcycles You must be reading something I am not saying.
I just wanted to tell you and others about a problem I had with a Dunlop 404 and be sure and check your 404s for a problem before it takes your life or gets you hurt. I feel they are not a good tire for a full dress bike with 2 riders , just not enough load capacity. If I were riding 1 up or a v twin bike I may run them but not a full dress bike not after this experience with them.
I have been riding bikes for 52 years and working on them as long and I always do a bolt, air , oil, water if it has it check before I ever hit the road. I run 40 lbs of air in the rear with 2 up as per Dunlops advice and 35 lbs in front tire with 15lbs in the forks and 40 lbs in the rear air shocks.
so thats it , keep on riding and check your tires often.
Sonny <///>< :thanks:
 

Attachments

  • Dunlop chart.pdf
    909.2 KB · Views: 50
sonny4jesus":1w9mjiaq said:
I did'nt say I hated Dunlop or any other tire for Motorcycles You must be reading something I am not saying.
Click to expand...

:smilie_happy: looks like a miscommunication to me. In my "edit" I was referring to how I did several searches with several motorcycle tire brands. Every time I saw a tire brand touted over another I searched "that" brand and found as many complaints. Seems every brand has had bad press.

~O~
 
I have replaced the front 19 inch front tire on my 81 interstate with an 18 inch from my 82 interstate along with the speedo gear , so now I have a 130/90/17 on the rear and a 120/90/18 on the front and wow did it make the bike feel more solid. The 18 inch tire tracks real nice and slow , no jerky feel and no feeling of wanting to fall over when turning in a parking lot .
I found a few tire dealers that carry the Dunlop 491s in the 120/90/18 with a load range in the 70s so I am going to replace the front tire with one of them and see how that goes. At present I have a chin shin on the 120/80/18 that was on the bike when I received it . The tire looks good and feels ok but I want that stronger load range for 2 up .
Sonny <///><
 
Holy cow guy's ....I have the 404's on this day [india accent] :smilie_happy: What tire's must I buy..?
 
littlebeaver":lj97u7vw said:
Holy cow guy's ....I have the 404's on this day [india accent] :smilie_happy: What tire's must I buy..?
Click to expand...
You can buy whatever tire you want (German accent!). For my money, I have been using Bridgestone S11 Spitfires and really like them. Pushing 17,000 on the front right now with 1/3 rd tread left.
 
I am not sure how well the chin shin will wear but it looks good so far and like I said it was on the bike when I got it, will keep you posted. I am going to get a 491 for the front soon and as soon as the continental tk 16 and 17 are in the USA again I want to get them.
sonny <///><
 
sonny4jesus":3lc9hvr9 said:
I am not sure how well the chin shin will wear but it looks good so far and like I said it was on the bike when I got it, will keep you posted. I am going to get a 491 for the front soon and as soon as the continental tk 16 and 17 are in the USA again I want to get them.
sonny <///><
Click to expand...

I think they have them up here
 

Latest posts

Top